It’s been a busy holiday week. When Christmas falls on a Wednesday, it seems to make things a little nutty. I imagine if I had a job it would be even worse. I continue to pound the pavement, but it’s a tricky time to try to get 
an interview! I have confidence that things will open up after next week. I managed to have a cigar or two since my last post, and I did skip a midweek post due to the holiday. I took part in a Secret Santa on one of the Facebook Groups, so I smoked a gifted cigar from Adam just before Christmas, a Four Kicks Maduro Lancero LE 2018. While I don’t have a great deal of experience with the Crowned Heads line, I am a big fan of the EP Carrillo cigars, and this cigar is made at Tabacalera La Alianza, S.A. factory, in the DR, and I like Maduros and I like Lanceros. I felt like this cigar would be a treat. My friends, I was not wrong, this cigar was, indeed, a treat. It’s a true Laguito No. 1 Vitola, 7 ½” x 38, with a fantail cap. The burn and draw were perfect, and I took care, as I usually do, to smoke it slowly so as not to overheat it and get a hot, bitter taste. It was delicious maduro espresso and dark chocolate and I dug it. I met Adam at the PA Barn Smoker and am looking forward to the next time we can hang out and have a cigar together, he and his wife are super-cool folks. Thanks for the experience!
I don’t recall if I mentioned it or not, but a few weeks ago I popped over to Goose’s Montecristo Lounge in Limerick, PA for a bit and hung out with Ryan and Rick from Island Lifestyle Importers. I’ve hung out with them at the IPCPR show, and been a big fan of their Tommy Bahama cigar accessories and, of course, their Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve line of premium cigars. While I was there I smoked their Aged Reserve Maduro in the Churchill size, and revisited it this week. They have changed their production from Perdomo to Oliva, oddly enough due to FDA regulation on box counts. Is that screwy or what? By the way, their factory was a tightly held secret, I tried for a long time to get them to spill, to no avail. This Maduro is a Nicaraguan wrapper, and is a beautiful oily maduro wrapper. The examples I’ve smoked have been absolute perfection, burn and draw were spot on, well balanced and right up my alley flavor-wise. Rich black coffee with some cocoa sweetness and some earthines, and good to the nub. Completely enjoyable. I also dig the Sungrown too, but this Maduro is great. The “Churchill” is large, 7″ x 54, I called it a Double Corona, but it’s a great smoke. I love the lighters, cutters and other cool stuff in the Tommy Bahama line too, it’s cool and works great. It was great seeing them and I hope to see them at the TPE show.
One of the other great cigars I smoked this week was a Gran Habano Gran Reserva No.5 2012 Corona Gorda. I love a Corona Gorda, much more than a Corona or Robusto. It’s like a scaled down Toro. For whatever reason, I’ve just always been a fan of the 5 1/8 x 46 shape, although there have been a few lines that I’ve preferred other sizes. In this case, they use the top 10% of the Corojo No.5 leaf and give the finished cigars additional aging. The wrapper and binder is Nicaraguan and the filler is Nicaraguan and Costa Rican and it’s a darned tasty blend. It’s smooth and rich. I always enjoy the Corojo No. 5, and this is a more refined version. I’m not entirely sure what they cost, or where to find them, but they are good, and I’d buy them in a heartbeat! Good stuff!
What else did I smoke? I had a RoMaCraft Baka, a Diamond Crown Black Diamond, a Davidoff Escurio, a Joya Cinco Decadas, and, of course, one of my favorites this year, a Don Juan Calavera Connecticut. That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
